Having finished my baseball themed thread, I had planned on continuing my GRS journey in my next post. But a story caught my eye. It was a follow up commentary to the recent Pew Research Center study and analysis on U.S. attitudes towards transgender. It confirmed the basis for my blog and the name I gave it. By being a transgender Christian, I belong to two groups that are not only nearly mutually exclusive, they are generally mutually uncomfortable with each other.

In connection with this article by Samantha Allen which appeared in the Daily Beast on 11/30/17, someone did a Google search for the following two phrases: “Evangelical transgender man” and “Evangelical transgender woman”. According to the article, the first phrase turned up one person (who was interviewed for the article). The second phrase turned up no one.

Having defined myself for over 30 years as a born-again Christian and having gone public since 2012 as a transgender woman, I was aware that there weren’t many of us out there. But I neglected to identify myself as an evangelical anywhere on my blog. Before I rushed out to correct this defect, I decided I had better make sure the meaning hadn’t changed since I last checked.

I found a few variations on the meaning. I decided to go with the definitions provided on the website of the National Association of Evangelicals. (I also checked them out to make sure they were a representative organization. Since my current denomination and the conference to which my previous church belonged are both members, I am confident in their validity as an organization well-equipped to define the term.)

First what is evangelicalism? The NAE website lists four primary characteristics:

Conversionism: the belief that lives need to be transformed through a “born-again” experience and a lifelong process of following Jesus

Activism: the expression and demonstration of the gospel in missionary and social reform efforts

Biblicism: a high regard for and obedience to the Bible as the ultimate authority

Crucicentrism: a stress on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as making possible the redemption of humanity

Noting that evangelical individuals are often researched, and acknowledging that the researchers use a variety of criterion to identify evangelical subjects for their studies, NAE and LifeWay Research developed a method that they urge researchers to use to identify evangelical individuals. According to this method, an evangelical must strongly agree to the following four statements:

The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.

Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

And my answer to all four is that I strongly agree with each and every one of them.

For a few years now, I have identified myself in the following manner:

I am a Christian first. That is my eternal spiritual identity.

I am female second. That is my innate gender identity.

Somewhere on the list, I am transgender. That is my anatomical reality.

So I hereby step into the void that was claimed to exist by Daily Beast. I, Lois Simmons, am a born-again Christian Evangelical transgender woman.

Note that I live in New York, the third least evangelical state in the U.S. According to the Association of Religious Data Archives, my county is only 5.5% evangelical, which is nearly half the percentage in the state, So I am well aware of what it is like to be a religious minority and a gender minority.

As if life wasn’t interesting enough already. While I have received a measure of acceptance and support within both groups and hopefully have also educated those in one of the groups about the other group, I have also detected and experienced measures of prejudice within both groups. While it doesn’t surprise me, it does sadden me.

There was a time when it might have surprised me. First of all until recently, transgender was barely a blip on the Christian radar. Until we started receiving more news exposure, Christians’ lack of familiarity with transgender individuals could be a plus if the issue was addressed in a positive way, with a sound Christian theological foundation. Furthermore, Christians and transgender individuals are two of the most persecuted groups in the world. One would think that there would be a natural affinity between groups that share significant persecution experience.

Sadly, over the years I have learned that this is not so. And it isn’t limited to Christians and transgender individuals. I have seen or heard of too many members of one persecuted group attack another persecuted group as part of their claim that they have suffered far greater persecution and the other group doesn’t have a valid claim. A current example is some black leaders who claim that LGBT+ organizations have hijacked the Civil Rights movement. And I have seen or heard too many members of one marginalized group mock or denigrate members of another marginalized group. It is not just those with privilege who use slurs and hate speech.

Persecution of Christians

Based on statistics that have been kept on the persecution of Christians for the past 25 years, in 2014-16, this persecution has reached record numbers each year with 2016 being the worst year yet. Millions of Christians face interrogation, arrest, torture, and/or death because of their religious convictions and cultural/ethnic identification. While about 30 percent of the world’s population identifies as Christian, 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination are directed at Christians. Christians currently face persecution in more than 60 countries. Between 2007 and 2014, Christians were targeted for harassment in more countries than any other religious group. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians are the most likely Christians to be persecuted. Terrorist attacks against Christians escalated over 300 percent between 2003 and 2010. It is estimated that 7100 Christians were martyred because of their religion in 2015, an increase of over 300 percent compared to 2123 martyred in 2013. Christian response to persecution is almost always non-violent, demonstrating faith and forgiveness. (Sources: International Society for Human Rights, U.S. State Department, Open Doors USA, Pew Research and Under Caesar’s Sword [at the University of Notre Dame in conjunction with the Religious Freedom Institute and Georgetown University])

It is not just adults who face this persecution. It is children, too: at school, at play, on the street … anywhere.

The extent of persecution of Christians may come as a surprise to some readers of this post. According to these sources, both the mainstream media and human rights organizations give little attention to Christian persecution. From 2008 to 2011, according to research done at Georgetown, Human Rights Watch had religious persecution as the focus of only 8 out of 323 published reports (about 2.5%), and less than half of those focused on persecution of Christians.

In the part of the world generally defined as “The West” (North America, South America, and Western and Central Europe), significant religious persecution was found to occur in only three countries: Cuba, Colombia and Mexico. Even so, Pew Research reports that governmental restrictions on religion increased in 37 out of 43 European countries plus the United States and Canada from 2007 to 2013. During the same time period, social hostilities towards religion increased in 38 of the 43 European countries. As someone who just celebrated her 65th birthday, I can testify that both of these categories have negatively impacted Christians’ religious freedom in the United States during my lifetime.

One of the ways Christians are persecuted in the world is that they are captured and enslaved. Both men and women are subjected to forced labor. Young girls and women are often forced into religious conversion and then a marriage to one of their captors.

I have shared Josh Groban’s version before, but it is appropriate for me to do so again. Not only is it the right time of year, but the words of the second verse cry out to me.

While statistics of persecution of Christians can vary because not everyone defines Christian in the same way, international statistics on persecution of transgender persons are even more difficult to come by. Many countries do not report crimes against transgender people at all, either denying the existence of transgender people in their country, or because it is not a crime to attack someone who is transgender in that country, or both. Some countries simply don’t consider it important to report on such matters. Others frequently misgender transgender people, using the gender assigned at birth rather than the personal gender identity of the person.

Even so, in countries where the statistics are more reliable, the trend is that violence against transgender people is increasing. While some of this may be related to more accurate reporting, greater visibility of and backlash against transgender people also may be playing a role. In the United States, a record number 23 violent deaths against transgender people occurred in 2016. With four weeks remaining in 2017, that number was topped as 27 violent transgender deaths have been recorded so far this year. Because some victims are misgendered in the initial reports, that number may rise even if there are no more murders before the end of the year. And with violent deaths occurring at a rate of more than one every two weeks, there is no guarantee that there won’t be more murders before the end of the year. The Christmas season of love and light provides no special protection for transgender people.

The vast preponderance of the 27 who were killed was trans women of color. And again, while there are differences in deciding which cases are included and which cases are not, the trends and the identity of those who are most vulnerable are both unmistakable. The annual murder rate for Americans age 15 to 34 is about one in 12,000. For black trans women in the same age group, it is one in 2,600.

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Another reason that the statistics may vary from website to website is that there are some cases that are in a gray area as far as whether it is a transgender related murder. For example, a transgender person may be killed by violent means but it wasn’t because the person was transgender. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of Transgender Day of Remembrance, points out that one of the 27 transgender victims of violence was killed as a result of an argument with a trans woman friend. And there have also been cases where the victim did not identify as transgender, but it is likely that the perpetrator of the murder assumed that they were or might be transgender and that was part of the basis for the violence.

Even so at the root of the matter, the trend is getting worse. And murder isn’t the only way that transgender people are persecuted. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, a 2015 survey of U.S. transgender people revealed that 55% of those who sought coverage for transition-related surgery in the previous year were denied. 77% of those taking the survey also reported that they were mistreated in some way when they were students during grades K-12.

I am one of the fortunate ones who was not negatively impacted in either of those areas. But I did encounter discrimination from a person who at one time had been employed by my insurance carrier when it came to negotiating a fair market price for pre-GRS hair removal. And I am about to contact a transgender-supportive state legislator’s office to look into why another reimbursement request related to my surgery has gone into a black hole: no approval, no denial and no explanation has been put forward.

The persecution of transgender people doesn’t just occur in dark alleys and private places. It also has been occurring in the halls of government. Although none of these bills have passed, sixteen states considered legislation to curtail the right of transgender people to use the public bathroom that corresponds with their personal gender identity, and six states have considered legislation to invalidate local anti-discrimination protections. There have also been three actions taken by the Federal Government in 2017 to roll back recent gains in transgender equality: rescinding protection guidelines for transgender students, the effort to bar transgender troops, and the Justice Department decision to stop applying workplace discrimination protections to transgender people.

The language here is very important. Note that I have deliberately used the phrase “transgender people”. While we have a transgender identity, first and foremost, we are people. Some of us have made significant positive contributions to our society, whether before our transition, or after, or both. Many more hold down steady jobs in a variety of industries and professions, pay our taxes, are good neighbors in our communities and play an important role in our families, worship in accordance with our religious or spiritual beliefs, and help provide the goods and services that meet the needs, wants and desires of our fellow Americans.

Note also that I talk about “transgender equality”, not “transgender rights”. We do not seek special rights above and beyond what our cisgender neighbors enjoy. We want the right to apply for and hold a job, to find housing, to receive public accommodations without being discriminated against. We want the right to feel safe in our homes, on the streets, and yes in bathrooms (where we are vulnerable, not perpetrators). To summarize, we want our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness the same as any other American covered under the Constitution of the United States.

The trend for murders of transgender people around the world is also increasing compared to the previous year. Based on statistics gathered by transrespect.org in preparation for TDOR 2017, there was an increase from 295 to 325 in the number of murders compared to the similar time period for the previous year. Brazil by far continues to produce the most reported murders, with 171 for the 2016-17 time period, followed by Mexico (56) and the United States (25). Since the statistics were first kept, there were 2,609 reported murders from January 1, 2008 to September 30, 2017.

There are many ways in which transgender victims of murder and other violent crimes are dehumanized as part of the systemic persecution. One is that the names and/or ages of the victims are not reported. Often, the victim is identified by birth name and gender in the official reports rather than their chosen name and personal gender identity. In many countries around the world, including Brazil and Thailand, it is illegal to change your name.

And then there is the situation where many countries do not report these crimes at all, or do not consider them to be crimes. Here is a salient quote from the transrespect.org website: “Trans and gender-diverse people around the world are victims of horrifying hate violence, including extortion, physical and sexual assaults, and murder, which often go unreported. In most countries, data on violence against trans and gender-diverse people are not systematically produced and it is impossible to estimate the actual number of cases.” Furthermore, it is suspected that there is vast underreporting of murders of transgender people from most Muslim countries, Russia and China, to name the largest and most flagrant instances.

On the other side of the reporting coin is Brazil. The situation in Brazil is similar to that in the United States. There are areas of the country, such as Rio de Janeiro, where there is a very visible and accepted transgender community. But there are other areas of the country, such as Sao Paulo (less than 200 air miles away), where much of the murder and other violent crimes against transgender people occur. Brazil has a little less than 2/3 the population of the United States, but nearly seven times as many murders of transgender people. For all citizens, Brazil’s murder rate is 4½ times as high as the United States, so that explains some, but not all of the discrepancy. Differences in the religious makeup of the population may also explain some of the discrepancy.

Comparing the persecution of the two groups, you may have noticed something. As a member of both groups, I am certainly aware of it. As much as a significant number of Christians feel antipathy toward transgender people and a significant number of transgender people feel antipathy toward Christians, both face a significant amount of their persecution by the same outside groups.

It is not uncommon for the enemy of my enemy to become my friend as a way for group alliances to be formed. But the groups have to sense that they have enough in common and have to reduce if not eliminate any sniping they are doing at each other. And that brings me back to one of the purposes of my blog. I have found a way to reconcile these two parts of my identity that many would claim to be diametrically opposed. If I can do it within me and not abandon one part or the other, then theoretically speaking it is doable in society. But both groups need to reach a place where they would prefer making allies instead of looking for gotchas and ways of putting the other group down. And that usually starts with one side making the first peace overture and the other side responding in kind. That might not be easy in view of the past history and lack of a centralized leadership for either group.

But here is where my Christian background comes to the fore. All things are possible with God. It doesn’t mean that it will happen, and I confess that at times it feels like I am shoveling sand against the tide. But it can happen. So for now, I stay at the task.

When I went to college, I had hopes of being a civil engineer/urban planner/transportation engineer. Maybe I can still be a bridge.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. – Philippians 4:6

To finish the list from my previous post, we jump back to the present day to someone with a history perhaps even more complex than the Apostle Paul. This is probably the biggest risk I have ever taken with a blog post. There are people who castigate him as someone who shames gay people. There are people who laud him as an example of being cured of homosexuality and/or transgender. But if you listen to his personal testimony rather than jumping to preconceived notions, you might find that he has gone far beyond these things in his message.

Sy Rogers has run the gamut from being associated with more than one letter of the LGBT acronym to being an active member of the ex-gay movement. Now, according to recent remarks I have heard him make to audiences, he simply preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I find his story a fascinating journey from a troubled early life to a life of experimenting with lifestyles and identities to a triumphant and satisfied life of peace in Christ. And it is a story that I present here as faithfully as possible as an objective reporter, not an editorial commentator.

This is the second blog post I have written about Sy Rogers. The first, posted on 8/8/14, found no fault with him. It only found fault with those who claim that he is a cured transsexual. In their zeal, they ignore his own testimony. That post is consistent with this one. He never really is or was transgender. It was an experiment after trying a number of other paths. Fortunately for him, the Lord spared him from a terrible mistake.

It was when Sy focused on pleasing God that he found peace. And that is the core of the message he now preaches.

So early in life that he does not even know at what age it occurred, he began to be molested with regularity. Outside of the home, before he ever experienced any sexual attractions or became aware of any sexual orientation, Sy’s speech and mannerisms made him a target for reprehensible verbal attacks and bullying, using terms for being gay and/or effeminate that are too vile to repeat. While most of his peers did not join in, none of them did much, if anything, to come to his aid. And it should be pointed out that his attackers were not people who identified as LGBT.

At some point in adolescence, Sy decided that his attackers might be correct and that this is who he was. He began to seek and find same sex relationships. The verbal attacks and bullying continued through school until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Hawaii. There his fellow sailors pretty much left him alone. He theorizes that they respected anyone who had what it took to make it through basic training, regardless of any other personal views. He used whatever free time allotted to him to lead a double life: sailor following orders on duty and active involvement in the gay community off base. This included him meeting and becoming friends with men who identified as gay Christians. They attended churches that identified as open and affirming of the gay lifestyle. While Sy believed in God his whole life, he was lukewarm even about this church because he was angry with God.

The next step in Sy’s journey occurred after he finished his tour with the Navy. He enrolled in college. It was a difficult experience for him. He became the target for any anti-gay sentiment on campus. The college would not allow him to have a dorm roommate. Petitions were filed against him. He was nominated for homecoming queen as a joke. He also says that there were some Christians who cared enough about him to try to witness to them. But the mistake they made, well-meaning as they were, was to try to win theological arguments with him instead of emphasizing that God indeed loves him.

Around this time, two of his gay Christian friends, friends whose marriage he celebrated with them, contacted him with news they were excited to share. By reading the Bible for themselves, they became convinced that the gay theology taught by their church was in error. They renounced their marriage and their gay lifestyle, were born again and started to attend a conservative church.

The initial effect that this had on Sy was to challenge a key pillar in his life, the teaching of the liberal church that God had made him gay and he should celebrate it. But that pillar wasn’t immediately replaced with a new support system. He decided that he was a failure as a man, as so many people were telling him. In fact, maybe he wasn’t a man at all. The only way that made sense for him to be born again was to be reborn as a woman. He went so far as to live as a woman for about 18 months in preparation for “sex change”.

At that time, Sy heard directly from God even though he wasn’t actively seeking Him. God found him when no Christian, no mocker, no church led Sy to Him. God and particularly the love and redemption of God became real to him. He reports that God didn’t say for him to stop being gay, but simply to walk with Him. Sy realized this was what he had needed all along. Having been told that he was reprobate and couldn’t be saved on the one hand, and that God made him gay on the other, he decided to turn to the Bible for himself to see what God had to say on the matter.

As a result, Sy turned away from living as a woman. He didn’t return to a gay lifestyle, even though his gay friends attempted to bring him back there. Soon, he realized that he needed to associate with people who shared his current values. He started attending a church. In this church, he found the male companionship he was lacking all his life and so desperately needed. They didn’t judge him as effeminate, which Sy admits that he still was very much so at the time. They simply drew him into their fellowship over and over again. For the first time in his life, he met men who simply accepted him as a man and didn’t want to either beat him up or have sex with him. This required an adjustment period for him, one that he was able to eventually work through.

Salvation is not followed by “and they lived happily ever after.” Sy faced trials. The main one was that he still had urges for sex with other men and the guilt he experienced as a result. He became a pastor, got married and has a family (a daughter) and turned to the ex-gay movement, becoming an active participant in it.

But none of those things helped to get rid of the urges or the guilt: of feeling unworthy of salvation. He needed something greater and he found it: a closer relationship and intimacy with God. Sy reports that he received a word from the Lord, reminding him of two things: that God is from everlasting to everlasting and knows the end from the beginning, and that God knew he would continue to have these urges after he was saved. The key was not the struggle against the urges. The key was to substitute something better and stronger. Sy learned to confess that yes, he still has these desires, but his love and desire for the Lord is greater.

Sy is still involved in ministry, but is no longer part of the ex-gay movement. His focus is not on rebuking people for their sins, but for showing them the light, love and Gospel of Jesus Christ. He counts his own salvation as the single most important accomplishment in his life. And he counts leading others to Christ as his most important ministry. When people give their life to the Lord, he trusts that the Lord will convict them of their sins, whatever they may be. It’s not his role to judge. He doesn’t need to do God’s work for Him.

Sy told a story in one of the videos of him that I watched. It is a good example of where his emphasis is now. He reports that a pastor told Sy that when a same sex couple moved next door to him, he shunned them and made his disapproval of them apparent. Sy asked the pastor what he would do if an unmarried heterosexual couple moved next door to him. The pastor affirmed that he and his wife would invite them to dinner at his house. Sy was able to show him the hypocrisy of offering fellowship to the one couple and denying it to the other, even though the pastor admitted that he believes both are living in sin in their relationship. The witness the pastor was giving to the first couple was helping push them away from Christ, the last thing any Christian should be doing.

My testimony is quite different from Sy Rogers’. I grew up in a stable home with an older brother and parents who were married nearly 65 years when my dad passed from this earth and my mom followed him 18 months later. I had good relationships with both my parents who were both present in my life (including a stay at home mom). They loved me and provided for me, taking care of my needs and even some of my wants and desires. But they certainly were not indulgent as many of my friends’ parents were. They had old-fashioned values (and happened to be a half generation older than most of my friends’ parents). My mom made sure that I went to church until I left home for college: then I could decide for myself what I wanted to do. And I loved church and Sunday school.

For a while, I turned away from the institution of church as many of my generation did. But I met a woman when I was 27 years old. Before we even started courting, her Christian testimony as part of her life story, not as a rebuke or in an attempt to lead me to God (she knew that at some level I believed in Him), convicted me that I needed to return to church and the fellowship of other Christians. We fell in love and got married and I became both husband and instant father to my infant stepson. And even though the marriage failed within a year, as did an attempt at reconciling 25 years later, I know that my return to church was a marvelous gift of God through this woman to whom I was once married. Slowly but surely, I grew as a Christian because of taking that step. And I must add that I initially returned to the church I attended as a child, in part because the pastor always was encouraging and friendly should we meet in public during that period of being away from the church. He never chastised me for my absence.

I never have identified as gay. My transition was never about doing so to get rid of guilt or shame when having sex with men. I have never had sex with men and did not transition to seek a sexual relationship with a man. If I end up in a marriage relationship with a man, it will be because my future spouse and I will, after much prayer, have arrived at the belief that this is God’s will for our lives. I am open and submitted to God’s will for my life. I have had men attracted to me since I began transition. I did not seek them and none of them were God’s will for me to pursue.

At the same time, I knew I was female from the time I was seven years old. Unlike Sy’s testimony, it was not an experiment because nothing else was working. I was quite content in my childhood, doing well in school, having a good relationship with my brother who I emulated in many ways until I got older and started to express my own likes and dislikes. I loved sports and had male friends and was never accused of being effeminate, and certain not bullied or mocked or called insulting names. My struggle was not so much internal as my need to deal with the knowledge that there were (apparently) almost no other people like me plus my awareness that society considered people like me something to be mocked, scorned or condemned.

But none of that kept me away from the church and God. In my case, I actively served in church as a trustee and an elder before I was saved. During this time, I attended regularly and took an active part in church life. I was respected. I served on the pastor nominating committee when the pastor I had known for well over 20 years at that church resigned to go to another church.

I was quite the ecumenicist at the time, studying other religions including eastern religions and philosophies. Like Sy, God found me in my own home, an answer to a very open-ended question I asked. I was 36 years old. From that time, I put away all other religions, and my relationship with God grew closer and closer. I began to grieve when I fell short of the glory of God rather than look to excuse or justify my sins. I occasionally gave a sermon when the pastor was on vacation, and I gave the only altar call I ever heard given in that church. I was convicted to pray and read the Bible daily and read the Bible cover to cover. (I would estimate that I’ve done so at least 15 times by now, sometimes in a year, sometimes more slowly and more studiously.)

Two and a half years after I was saved, I became part of a worldwide ministry (primarily men), a non-denominational missionary outreach of local churches. It was here that I had even stronger and closer fellowship with men, wonderful Christian role models, especially as I was able to go outside my local area in the ministry and see men in positions of greater authority. I also saw many strong and loving Christian marriages, with wonderful relationships between husbands and wives.

I was in the main part of that ministry for nearly 21 years. I still love the work of that ministry and support it financially as I am now in a peripheral part of it. I have calculated that to the glory of God, He equipped me to have a tangible part in the distribution of well over 300,000 copies of His word (either full Bibles or pocket New Testaments) through personal donations, by placing them directly in the hands of people or in various locations where they were accepted, by raising funds by speaking in churches, or by creating the assignments for teams of men to go out and distribute His word.

But here is a key point in my testimony: when He saved me, God knew I would transition 23 years after I was saved. He also knew I would continue to grow in His word, love Him more and more, be active in a Bible-believing church, and give my Christian testimony (as I am doing right now). In addition to God’s foreknowledge, there’s a more subtle point. Those 23 years were a long time of being in God’s word until I saw the scriptures that showed me God’s mind on this matter of how I was created. I did not act on transitioning until I had this Biblical knowledge. In addition, although my life had experienced its share of relationship and financial struggles, the need to live as my authentic self came at a time when my life was content and untroubled by anything else.

Furthermore, I still distribute His word on a limited basis as well as continuing to contribute to the purchase of scripture (whether for me to hand out or for others to distribute, mostly in countries where they can afford to purchase far less than the need). I am currently a member of a church that is also another well-known worldwide Christian ministry: the Salvation Army. I have shared my Christian testimony and my transgender testimony with a number of people there. I walk in the light and no longer hide who I am in darkness. And just before Christmas 2016, the Lord gave me a wonderful encouragement. I was able to hand out about 75 copies of His word to the needy people of the area who were picking up presents for their children and food for their holiday dinners. And we would have been able to hand out more scriptures if we hadn’t run out. We will be better prepared next year to help our neighbors satisfy their hunger for God’s word as well as their hunger for a celebratory feast.

A second key point in my testimony is that once I reached the point where I considered acting on transitioning, I did not keep this knowledge from my pastor at the time (not the church I go to now). I came out to him early in the process. We prayed together and searched the scriptures together. I spoke to whoever he wanted me to speak to on the matter. Throughout the process, he never stopped showing me Christian love or respecting me as a person. He continued to acknowledge my authentic Christian identity.

I have no idea if Sy Rogers would accept my testimony. I have no idea if he would be willing to share a stage with me to present our life stories and then carry out the important work of witnessing for Christ. I certainly have no right to speak for him on a topic where I have not heard him speak. What I do know is that in his current testimony, he does not identify as having been gay or transgender. He considers those symptoms of the brokenness of his upbringing, not identity.

What I have in common with Sy Rogers is that I have a life story and the most important part is what God has done for me in my life. As I routinely tell people, first I am a Christian: that is my eternal spiritual identity. Next I am female: that is my innate gender identity. Somewhere down on the list is the anatomical incongruence that makes me transgender.

Someone who is generally recognized as a Christian leader in the United States recently commented that Jesus wasn’t always loving. Any Christian leader should tremble when making remarks like that. Jesus’ rebukes were almost always directed at those in religious leadership who enforced the letter of the law without understanding or including the love, mercy and compassion of God that was at the heart of the spirit of the law; who required burdens of their proselytes that they themselves would not bear; who condemned tax collectors for cheating the people when collecting taxes for the Roman government but were just as guilty for their involvement in cheating the people in the temple when it came to exchanging their currency for the shekel to pay the tax or in declaring their offering blemished so they could sell them another animal for sacrifice.

When Jesus taught and even corrected multitudes of the common people, it was never in a harsh or attacking way. As Paul advised in Colossians 4:6, so did Jesus minister to the people: his speech always with grace, seasoned with salt. The grace, lovingkindness, compassion, gentleness, healing, feeding and freeing the people from the bondage of the Law was what drew people to Him. The salt was to convict them when they were violating the spirit of the Law or were slow to see and hear the message in His teaching. But if the message is all salt, who can swallow it? It drives the people away.

And Jesus did not rebuke the Roman authorities and other Gentiles who did not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He didn’t fear them. Why should he? It wasn’t that they were excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven. Their time would come in the next 10-15 years. No, it was simply because He knew that they were not ready to receive His message.

But today, leaders routinely attack those who are outside of the body of Christ, who do not consider the Bible their authority, for doing things and committing sins contrary to Biblical teaching. Of course they don’t. Why would they follow the teachings of something that they don’t consider authoritative?

Judgment begins within the Church, not outside of it. When the body of Christ gets its act together and presents a Christlike face to the rest of the world, then we can do a more effective job of drawing people to Christ. Yes, there will always be those who hate us, because the world hated Him before they hated us. But if one must suffer, it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? – Romans 2:1-3

Many Christians in the U.S. today are preoccupied with fixing: fixing the country; fixing the culture; fixing individuals who identify in various ways. Is this what the Bible calls for? And is this a worldwide phenomenon for Christians?

To some extent this is a phenomenon pretty much found in the United States alone. Behind this preoccupation is the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation based on Christian values, and that if the United States abandons those values, the nation will experience a significant decline from its greatness. Those at the forefront of this movement will point to evidence that in some ways the United States is already experiencing the beginnings of decline including a corresponding moral decline, and that the evidence parallels both the growing trend to remove God (and especially in the person of Jesus Christ) from the public square.

Regarding their premise, there is a great deal of evidence that the United States was founded on Christian principles and by mostly Christian political leaders. We can see it in everything from numerous laws, to the theological content of the early McGuffey Readers, to the foundation of colleges and hospitals, to oaths of office and swearing in of witnesses on a Bible, to public statements by political leaders at their inauguration in office, their farewell addresses and speeches at times of national crisis.

But were these the only principles upon which the United States was founded? We might accurately say with a touch of humor that the Founding Fathers relied on both Calvin and Hobbes. Indeed, they were influenced by the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Cesare Beccaria, David Hume, Adam Smith, Voltaire, Rousseau and Plato: all known for varying degrees of secularism in their major writings and some not Christian at all.

Therefore, while we were seen as being endowed with unalienable rights by a creator God, the United States also greatly expanded the rights of a free people to both participate in the political process of the new republic and to enjoy life and liberty and pursue happiness as they saw fit, provided it did not interfere with those same rights in others. So even though these rights come from God, each citizen could choose how to worship God or not worship at all, or even refuse to believe in the existence of God. Certainly many political leaders of that time would have believed in the superiority of Christianity in the marketplace of ideas and therefore would have had little concern about the United States ever abandoning Christianity to any great degree. One of the ways to ensure that, they believed, was to have a well-educated public in at least the basics, what became known as “the three R’s”. From such was spawned an emphasis on the importance of a public school education for all children who reached a certain age and the establishment of most of the early collegiate institutions of the country. (Ironically, most of these colleges are today liberal bastions and harbors of negativity towards Christianity.)

Regardless of the origins of the political system and the prevailing culture in the United States, we’ve come a long way and seen many changes in the 450+ years since the first permanent colony by Europeans was established in St. Augustine, the 400+ years since settlers from England founded Jamestown and the 240+ years since the First Continental Congress of the American colonies met, leading to the 13 colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain less than two years later. In particular during the past fifty years, Americans have moved away from mainline Protestant denominations in general and from organized religion in particular. Many also continue to nominally identify as Protestants or Catholics, but have turned away from strict adherence to Papal authority in the case of Roman Catholics, and local ecclesiastic authority in the case of Protestants, many of whom retain the identity but are essentially unchurched.

At the same time, there has been growth or at least continued strength in various denominations of Baptists as well as in independent evangelical Christian churches (some in small splinter denominations) which include a number of megachurches. It is from these denominations and churches that the greatest hue and cry comes to see the United States either continue to be or return to be a “Christian nation”. But the question is, how should this occur, through politics or evangelism? And if through evangelism or both ways, what should the evangelical part of the message be?

First and foremost, let me state unequivocally that there is nothing in either the Bible or the Constitution of the United States that prohibits Christians (including clergy) from participating in the political process, whether voting, voicing public opinion, running for office at any level, and serving in either appointed or elective offices in any of the branches of government at any level. And certainly the positions and actions of those who serve in government can and must be influenced by their moral beliefs and convictions as shaped by their spirituality. But it must also be consistent with the laws under which they serve and swear or affirm in some way their fealty to. And if those same moral beliefs and convictions cause them to have sharp and deep disagreement with any of those laws, their attempts to change those laws must also be within the framework of the law. Furthermore, if they can no longer abide by the framework of the law, they must be willing to accept the consequences if found guilty of violating the law in a fair and just hearing or trial.

There is, and should be, far less restriction on what is preached or taught within churches and in general the free exchange of ideas in the public square. This is also part of the “American experiment” in freedom, including protections within the Bill of Rights regarding the free exercise of religion. And that free exercise extends beyond mere worship.

But freedom, to be used wisely, demands a high level of responsibility. In his letter to the Romans and two letters to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul writes in detail about the balance between Christian liberty and responsibility. Those responsibilities extend to dealings with both fellow Christians and non-Christians, and include a general requirement to obey the laws of the land unless such laws require (not permit) Christians to disobey God’s commandments: in particular, only those commandments that apply when part of a country that is not a theocracy (which is every country other than Israel and Judah from the time of Moses until the diaspora).

Christians ought to take notice that Paul was writing these words from locations and to Christians in locations that were far harsher in their treatment of Christians than anything close to what Christians in the United States experience today. He was writing these tenets that became part of the Biblical canon of the New Testament at a time when he and eleven of the first twelve post-ascension Apostles would be martyred for being Christian (the twelfth, John, sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos for the final decades of his 94 years on Earth). While persecution of Christians in the world is at historically high levels, there is nothing in the United States that even remotely compares to what was experienced by the early Church until the conversion of Emperor Constantine around 312 AD.

So what choice do Christians face? In terms of Christian witness, it is the choice between legalism and love. Love doesn’t mean anything goes and all Biblical standards are thrown out the window. Agape love means primarily caring about others, Christian or non-Christian, looking to lift up and edify other Christians while drawing non-Christians to the love and light of Christ. It means remembering who we were before we were saved and that we still fall short of the glory of God even after becoming new creatures in Christ. And it means remembering how powerful God’s love is; how strong God’s grace is. 1st Corinthians 13 is one of the best known chapters of the New Testament, and one of the best testimonies to the power of God’s agape love (translated as charity in the KJV). The strength of God’s grace is not as well known.

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. – 2nd Timothy 2:1

So I choose agape love over legalism. Here are some examples of agape love in action. One is someone famous in the 20th century, one is someone unknown to all but a handful of people, and one is direct from the Bible. There will be a follow up to this post, a part two, that will deal mostly with a fourth example whose example is especially interesting to me in comparison with my life.

Anyone who watched the movie, “Chariots of Fire”, knows the story of Eric Liddell. His refusal to compete in his specialty, the 100 meter dash because the heats for the race in the 1924 Olympics in Paris were held on a Sunday is a key element of the story portrayed in the movie. It certainly smacks of legalism. But while it might have hurt the chances of his country’s team in one event, it was basically something he imposed on himself. He did not require it of any of his teammates. And it was potentially less detrimental to his team than the refusal of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax to play on Yom Kippur during key games in a pennant race or the World Series. As it turned out, Greenberg’s Detroit Tigers would win the American League pennant in 1934, Koufax’s Los Angeles Dodgers would win the World Series in 1965 and Great Britain would win the gold and bronze medals in the 100 meter dash at the 1924 Olympics, the race that Liddell refused to run. As for Liddell, he had time to adjust his training to a longer sprint race: the 400 meters. He won the gold medal in Olympic record time, and also captured a bronze medal in the 200 meter run.

The movie also showed how Liddell, born in China, was from a family of missionaries. What is somewhat less well known is what he did after his Olympic triumph in 1924. In 1925, he returned to China as a missionary, first in Tianjin (Tientsin) and was transferred to a poor rural area of Xiaozhang in 1941. The area was so dangerous due to attacks by the Japanese Army that he sent his pregnant wife and two older daughters to Canada to live with his wife’s parents.

In 1943, Liddell was captured by the Japanese with other members of the mission and was interned in a camp. While others, even many of the missionaries, became selfish and cliquish, Liddell’s exemplary character stood out in the worst of times as he tirelessly helped others, especially the elderly and the children.

Many stories of his selflessness survived Liddell and the camp. The one that stands out to me involves him serving as a referee for the boys team sports games like soccer, rugby and field hockey. Originally, consistent with the stand he took at the 1924 Olympics, he refused to referee any games on Sunday in hopes that the boys would spend their Sundays in church and devotions that day. Instead, the boys formed their own informal matches. Reasonably well-behaved when their hero was refereeing, fights broke out among the boys during the Sunday games. When Liddell learned of this, did he punish the boys? No. Understanding that they were boys, not men, and concerned for their safety, he relaxed his strict position about activities on the Sabbath and began to referee their Sunday contests as well.

From an internment camp in China during World War II, we go to a small town in south-central Pennsylvania. The year was 2016.

Mercersburg is a small town of about 1500 people, but some famous people were born there or have lived there. A private prep school, Mercersburg Academy, has educated seven Rhodes scholars, a Nobel laureate, two Academy Award winners and 54 Olympians (12 who have won gold medals). I met one of those gold medalists. Charles Moore Jr., who won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki in the 400 meter hurdles and a silver medal running one of the legs on the 4 x 400 meter relay team, went from Mercersburg to my alma mater of Cornell, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is also a member of the Quill & Dagger Society, a senior honorary to which I was selected in 1974. But I’ve already talked about an Olympic gold medalist.

Instead, this story primarily involves the public high school which is named for perhaps its most famous native son, President James Buchanan. And it involves a student there who will never receive world recognition. But I believe she will receive many crowns in heaven.

It began in early March with a local Youth Pastor hearing about The Life Book, which contains the complete Gospel of John. Students are using it to witness to their peers. The pastor was so excited by this that he ordered six cases and shared the information about it at their next youth group meeting. The students eagerly began to make plans to distribute the books to their classmates at James Buchanan High School. But the most eager was Violet Clark. One of the most popular students in school, she asked the Youth Pastor for a full case: 100 books.

Did Violet distribute those books of witness to her fellow students by preaching fire and brimstone and telling them what horrible sinners they are? No! With a big smile and joy in her step, she went from student to student, those she knew and those she didn’t, to hand them a book and share Christ’s message of hope with them. It took her a little over six weeks to share the entire case, sharing the last three just before her 18th birthday.

The day after her birthday, Violet was involved in a serious car accident as she left school. Although the school is not one where prayer is normally promoted, students and teachers spontaneously began a prayer vigil on behalf of Violet. But three days later, God chose to call her home.

In the immediate aftermath of Violet’s death, the school community turned to the word of God that was now readily available, not only to deal with her death, but to find out how to receive the kind of joyful life that Violet lived while she was among them. Many students are coming to Christ, not in response to rebuke, but because Violet and some of her fellow youth group members radiated the love of Christ among them.

From modern day Pennsylvania, we go back nearly two thousand years to eastern Macedonia, in particular to the city of Philippi. Here we look upon two men who have gotten themselves into a peck of trouble. We know them today as the Apostle Paul and Silas, but it was Paul who was the leader.

It is Paul who we will focus on. God could not have picked a more interesting and well-suited person to be both his chief missionary of the Gospel and author of a major part of the New Testament through the letters he wrote to the churches he planted, clarifying some of the finer points of Christian theology and contending with heretical positions that were already creeping into the early Church. As the Church spread into Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and points west, the early Church membership went from being entirely Jewish to a not always comfortable mixture of Jew and Gentile.

But who better to deal with contentions and heresies than a Jewish scholar who at one time thought that believing that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God was the very epitome of heresy. Saul of Tarsus, who would later be better known by his Roman name, was perhaps the foremost persecutor of these Jewish followers of Jesus. It fact, it was when he was on the road to Damascus to apprehend these followers of Jesus (the name “Christian” was not even being used yet), that Paul had his direct encounter with Christ that led to his 180º change of position on the legitimacy of belief in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. It was such a major change that many of the leaders of the early Church were highly suspicious that it was a trick to enable Paul to destroy the Church by cutting off the head. It would be like Ted Cruz suddenly speaking out as the most ardent advocate of pro-LGBT issues.

But Paul was far more than a zealot. He was a scholar who studied at the feet of the best teachers of the Law that Judaism had to offer in his day. In fact, he was a member of the sect whose name is now synonymous with legalism. He was a Pharisee. And while he preached in the synagogue of Damascus immediately after his sight was restored following his Damascus road experience, he also studied the Tanakh long and hard to make sure that his interpretation of the experience was accurate.

Although the Bible tells us that Paul did not preach with eloquence, by adding a solid scriptural foundation to a compelling testimony of a changed life, he was able to win many converts, both Jew and Gentile, to the early church. As such, he often drew the ire of those who had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, whether Jew or Gentile. In Philippi, it was wealthy Gentiles he angered. They incited a mob that brought Paul and Silas to the magistrates who in turn had them beaten and thrown into prison. At this point, we’ll let the Bible tell the story, starting with Acts 16:23.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:23-34)

What brought salvation to the jailor and his family? Was it angry rhetoric directed against the jailor, the magistrates and his accusers? Was it the formation of a protest committee, marching around the jail and shouting slogans? Did a commando raid break Paul and Silas out of prison, taking the jailor and his family with them? No! It was because he saw their concern for him. Not only had they been cheerfully praising God in a situation where most would be surly and grumbling, they did not avail themselves of the perfect opportunity to escape. But Paul, who wrote about sacrificing his Christian liberty for a weaker believer, sacrificed his physical liberty for someone who didn’t even believe in Christ. Yet led by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate humble obedience, Paul won this man and his family to Christ.

Even some conservative Christian websites are talking about the need to return to the primary Gospel message for our witness to the world. Although I don’t agree with every idea stated in the article, I am providing a link to one such discourse. And then the next blog post will look at the fourth and final person in the list I promised, a person some of my transgender friends may be surprised that I am including. But his message fits this theme perfectly.

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. – Colossians 3:14-15

I enjoy a good love story. I’m talking romance, not necessarily sex. Perhaps I love them even more after all these years because I haven’t known much romance in my life. I’m a romantic person who had very little opportunity to express that side of me, in either gender role.

The Bible has a number of beautiful love stories. Some of them also had a bit of tarnish on them. The love that Jacob had for Rachel is both beautiful and tarnished.

The eldest servant of Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, was sent to Padanaram to find a wife for Jacob’s father, Isaac. That wife, Rebecca, would favor Jacob over his twin brother, Esau (the elder brother by a matter of a few moments). It was Rebecca who also suggested that Jacob personally go to Padanaram to find his own wife. The journey would also help Jacob escape the wrath of Esau, the one that he cheated out of a birthright and the best blessing.

It was quite a journey for Jacob, a man heretofore content to stay in the camp and dwell in tents. Most significant of all, he has a direct encounter with the Lord at Bethel and vows that if the Lord takes care of him on this journey, the Lord will be Jacob’s God.

This sets the stage for Jacob to arrive at the land of his grandfather’s people. And when he arrives, the first woman he lays eyes upon his Rachel, not unlike Abraham’s servant encountering Rebecca as the first woman he approaches. And both encounters take place at sources of water, a most precious commodity to the sheep ranchers of the Middle East.

At this time in her life, Rachel is the keeper of her family’s flock, a shepherdess. As she approaches the well, Jacob is conversing with the men about the proper procedures of sheep (cattle) ranching.

And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. – Genesis 29:7-8

Notice that the men of that place are not rolling away the stone. They are waiting for “they” to do it for them.

But when Rachel arrives with her flocks, Jacob himself rolls away the stone from the well and waters the sheep. (This is the reverse of the encounter between Abraham’s servant and Rebecca. At that time, Rebecca gave the servant a drink and also watered the servant’s camels.)

Having impressed Rachel with his gallant gesture, Jacob goes to Rachel and kisses her. (Okay, I’m enhancing the text here a bit, romantic that I am. But he did kiss her.) Then he identifies himself as family.

This is where the love story of Jacob and Rachel begins. And here is where it quickly gets sullied. Jacob’s Uncle Laban, father of Rachel, gets involved. Perhaps Laban has gotten wilier in his older years. Perhaps he realizes he is dealing this time with a suitor, not a servant. Perhaps both. But it soon becomes clear that Jacob, the conniver and supplanter, is from the same gene pool as Laban. However, Laban is more experienced and Jacob at first appears to have met his match.

Jacob’s bargaining skills are blinded by the stars in his eyes for Rachel. He agrees to work for seven years for Laban to obtain Rachel’s hand in marriage. And Jacob’s love for Rachel is so strong that seven years seem like only a few days for him. Ladies, could a suitor be any more devoted than that?

Here’s where Laban gets the better of Jacob. Apparently there was no formal wedding ceremony in those days where the bride and groom stood together before someone to marry them. As a wealthy man and father of the bride, Laban has a feast and then delivers the bride to the groom for their wedding night. But lo and behold, when Jacob awakes the next morning, it is Rachel’s older sister, Leah, next to him. Laban wants to marry off his oldest daughter first, and he tricks Jacob to do so.

Jacob works seven more years for Rachel, although this time Laban doesn’t make Jacob wait more than a week. Apparently Leah was entitled to a conjugal week.

Now we have the advantage of hindsight to know how the story turns out. After another seven years, Jacob wants to take his growing family and return to his home in Canaan. This time Laban is in the position of desperate bargainer. For fourteen years, he has seen how the Lord has blessed whatever Jacob does. He doesn’t want to lose Jacob and that blessing on his ranching operation. So now Jacob can name his price. And at first it looks like Jacob is a poor negotiator once again. But it gives Jacob the opportunity to fleece Laban this time. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.) And soon, Jacob has accumulated great and healthy flocks of his own to go back home with. And when he sees that Laban and his sons are starting to turn against him, Jacob decides that it is time to get out of Dodge.

Through all these machinations, Jacob eventually fathers the twelve sons who become heads of the tribes of Israel. And on the way back to meet up with Esau once again, Jacob has another encounter with the Lord (a wrestling match this time: how many people would be more afraid of their brother than the creator of all things?) that leads to him being given the name by which the nation would be known: Israel. Regardless of why God chose to have things happen this way, they happened.

It was by Leah that Levi was born, becoming the tribe of priests. Leah’s fourth son, Judah, named for her praise of the Lord, would become the ruling tribe. When peace finally comes, all the people shall be gathered unto him.

It was by Rachel that Joseph was born. He was the one who emerged from prison to save his people and forgive his brothers.

Almost all the pieces of the picture, the foreshadows, are present in this fascinating, imperfect love story. But it never comes to full fruition, never comes together in one person: not until Jesus, the lion of Judah, the son of David, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, the Alpha and the Omega from everlasting to everlasting.

Jesus is the Passover lamb, the perfect lamb without spot or blemish, whose sacrifice once forever saves the people from their sins. But He is also the Good Shepherd. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.

Jesus is the priest after the order of Melchizedek, without beginning or end. But He also sits at the right hand of God the father. The scepter never departs from His hand and He shall be the righteous judge of all.

Jacob, in fathering twelve sons, was in a sense the creator of the nation. He is another picture that points to Jesus:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. – Colossians 1:16-17

In addition to being the sheep, the shepherd (Rachel), the priest (Levi), the ruler (Judah), the savior (Joseph) who also preached to the spirits in prison (1st Peter 3:19), the sacrificial love (Jacob for Rachel) that gave His life for us while we were yet sinners and at enmity with God, the way to the Father (Bethel) and the creator (Jacob/Israel), Jesus is also the life-giving water in the story. Jesus is the living water: those who drink of Him shall never thirst. Water is also an image associated with the Word of God. Jesus is the word made flesh to have free course: those who partake of it will never hunger.

Furthermore, Jesus is the light who has come into the world. Whether as the pillar of fire by night or in the burning bush (for example), it was always God who brought the light to the scene. This is also true figuratively, as when God enlightened Joseph with the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams. Nothing physical in the story of Jacob, Rachel and the children of Israel could be a foreshadowing of the light that illuminates the darkness.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9:2,6-7

In order for there to be the victory of Easter, there had to be the hope that was born of Christmas.

When Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary, the sun was darkened. Earthquakes tore the veil of the temple in two and opened the ground, including graves that saw their occupants come to life. A couple of days later, another earthquake rolled the stone away. No person had to do so this time.

As dawn’s light filled the sky on that Resurrection Sunday, so too did the Gospel message have valid proof. “An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.”

The stone has been rolled away. It is time to water the sheep. It will be time to water the sheep until Jesus returns. As Christians, we are to be the clay pots to carry the water to the troughs. Whatever else our lot in life may be, this is our first responsibility, our great commission.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15

I caught a cold or the flu. I started to feel it late Tuesday evening after meeting a dear friend, someone I met through my blog, for lunch. So I missed out on Christmas Eve services at my church. Sometimes I feel better. Then it is like the germs spin a wheel to decide which symptoms they are going to hit me with. So I have had congestion, sneezing fits, coughing fits (which were starting to do a number on my stomach), body aches, lower back and kidney pain and currently feeling somewhat flushed.

But I won’t let it ruin my Christmas spirit. I can see blessing even in the midst of some misery. I know it is better to get this now than in the middle of tax season. And I had no plans for Christmas Day this year. Next year might be different. By then, I am hoping my brother will have come to terms with my true identity and will invite me to spend Christmas with him and his wife. And I have been given a very healthy (if not overactive) immune system. So as long as I take it easy for a few days, I should be okay soon.

Meanwhile, even if it is late in the day, I wanted to extend my best wishes to my readers. I made some wonderful new friends this year who contacted me because of my writing. While not all of these friends identify as Christian, all of them are like me in that we are transgender and that we want to do what is right in God’s sight. Would that I could share with you the amazing conversations we have had, the understandings we have reached, the knowledge we have shared and the misunderstandings we were able to work through. If only we could get a receptive audience at the United Nations to show what is possible when love, peace, forgiveness and understanding are the focus of relationships.

However you may feel about Christmas, and despite the fact that some Christians do not do a very good job practicing these ideals, love, peace, forgiveness, understanding, compassion, joy and hope are the message of the birth of Jesus. But rather than go into sermon mode, I am going to let some songs of Christmas speak the message. Whether than sing along or just listen, I hope you will enjoy them.

To ease into things, I am starting with a song that isn’t religious, but does remind us that Christmas is about love and childlike innocence, not things. It is a relatively new song by a long time favorite group of mine, the Moody Blues.

Another song to set the general mood of good cheer, this carol is based on a Ukrainian folk chant to usher in the new year at a time when Ukraine celebrated the start of the year in April (before Christianity and the Julian calendar came to Ukraine, moving the celebration of the new year to January. The lyrics were rewritten for midwinter instead of spring and then translated into English when the song was introduced to the U.S. in the 1930’s. I love the Celtic Woman version because it features five beautiful, talented women and a melodic choir. And you just have to admire anyone who can play the violin so exquisitely while dancing across the stage in high heel pumps!

It is my understanding that it is the hope and dream of every Jewish girl and woman who is still able to bear children to be the mother of the Messiah, that the baby inside her would be a boy who would be the key to the future of Israel and even all the world. Whether or not you believe that woman has already been chosen, just consider the awesome responsibility that would be. Upon finding out, it would be an honor and answer to prayer. But then the scary reality might come upon you. What if I mess up? Am I up to the task? Am I worthy to be chosen? Like Moses and Isaiah and Elijah and Jonah and many others before her, would she say, “Lord, are you sure you want me for this job?” Add the fact that Mary’s espoused husband was not the father, the Holy Spirit was but who would believe it, and you can see how much faith it took for Mary, this very young woman child, to move forward and accept her role without question.

With the rich and unadorned alto voice of Kathy Mattea, I can picture Mary’s elder cousin Elizabeth, mother of John who would herald the ministry of Jesus, singing this to Mary during the time when Mary tended to her cousin whose pregnancy was a few months further along.

I am going to take a pause in the music for a moment to provide a bit of Bible reading. Even in 1965, the key producers of A Charlie Brown Christmas thought it would be too controversial to include it. But how can you be angry with wise and innocent Linus with his hint of a lisp as the narrator? The special, which many industry veterans thought would be a flop, has become one of the most popular programs of all time, and Linus reading from Luke 2:8-14 was a big part of the popularity. Linus has indeed told Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about.

So we have come to the actual birth event of Jesus. And those who love peace, regardless of religious belief, should resonate with the proclamation of peace on earth, good will toward men (i.e. all mankind). Here we have two songs that echo that desire for peace on earth. The first one was written in October 1962 during the height of the Cuban missile crisis with the fervent hope that peace would prevail while the specter of nuclear war loomed. And not only were the songwriters despairing that peace might be elusive, like Charlie Brown, they were despairing about the growing commercialism of the Christmas holiday. In the 52 years since, Do You Hear What I Hear? has become one of the most covered and biggest selling Christmas songs, and deservedly so.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day was written almost 100 years earlier, when the United States was threatening to split apart permanently. Originally written as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, it was published on Christmas Day 1863 at a time when he was mourning the recent death of his wife in a fire (in which Longfellow suffered significant facial burns trying to save her) and news of his son’s severe wounding a few weeks earlier in battle. Two verses of the poem are rarely sung as they have a darker tone not considered suitable as a Christmas carol. It is a shame, because the contrast becomes even starker between the horrors of war and the beauty of peace.

The poem was first set to music in 1872 and then a more modern arrangement was written in the 1950’s. This version by Johnny and June Carter Cash is to the older tune and features five of the seven verses, albeit in somewhat different order than the original poem and with one verse repeated, the most hopeful final verse that echoed the words of the heavenly host as recorded in Luke 2:14.

Jesus didn’t stay a baby forever. Questions followed Him, as they do to this day. Around age 30, He began the ministry that was ordained for Him. He added disciples to His ministry. He taught in parables which He explained more fully to His disciples. Slowly, He began to unfold the details of His purpose. It wasn’t always easy to hear, that the one they had come to love so purely would suffer and die. It was even harder for them to fathom that He would rise from the dead. But without these events, there would not have been a reason for His birth.

I Wonder as I Wander talks about the birth of Christ, but it also asks some of those same hard questions that His disciples were asking. It is based on a snippet of a folk song heard when evangelicals had been ordered by police from the southern Appalachian town of Murphy, N.C., sung by a beautiful but raggedy and unwashed child in exchange for donations on July 16, 1933. American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles developed this hauntingly beautiful song that has come to be identified with Christmas. While Vanessa Williams is neither raggedy or unwashed, she is beautiful in voice and appearance in this version.

For another year, Christmas Day has come. It is a day for joy to the whole world. I love Whitney Houston’s version of this carol as sung during the movie, The Preacher’s Wife. It is one of my favorite carols in many arrangements, but this version seems to have the most unbridled joy. Indeed, sing of God’s wonderful love and resounding joy in His creation and His desire for mankind. There is nothing else like it.

To conclude this mini online Christmas concert, I have chosen a carol that many would have expected to put at the beginning, not the end. But I am mindful that not all of my readers are Christian or believe in Christ. Even so, God being with us here on earth is something more wonderful than anything else imaginable for those who love the Lord, whether you are awaiting Him to come for the first time or to return. And so in that spirit, we say “Maranatha, come quickly Lord. O come, o come, Emmanuel.”

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:8-14

Whether you know Jesus as the Christ, or are seeking the Christ, or seeking truth, please accept my good wishes to you at Christmas time.

Any discussion of Christmas carols is bound to bring out varying opinions as to their relative merits and each person’s very favorite. Perhaps the most beautiful carol and the one that shows off superior vocal talent the best is O Holy Night. A link to a recording of the song is included at the end of this post. You can judge for yourself and hopefully will enjoy it as part of your celebration of the Christmas season.

But for now, I am focusing on the lyrics and a bit of the history of the carol. After all, my blog is about ideas in the areas of Christianity and transgender. I am not a music critic or a professional musician of any kind.

There are a few ironies in the origin of the carol. In 1843, the lyrics were written first as a poem. The poem was written at the request of the parish priest of Roquemaure, a little town in the wine region of south France. But the poem, without music, was to be part of a celebration of the recent renovation of the church organ. The name of the parish priest and his reason to commission a poem instead of a hymn or carol to be played on the organ are lost to history.

Also intriguing was the priest’s choice to write the poem. He asked Placide Cappeau, known more for his interest in wine as a merchant and minor official than for his interest in church. In fact, during his life he held anticlerical and atheist views. But he was also known as a poet and in this small town of only a few thousand people, perhaps was considered the best.

Cappeau found inspiration for the lyrics in the account of the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, the most detailed description found in the Bible. Despite his personal views, not only did he write these beloved lyrics based on his imagination of what it must have been like to be present on that night on that most holy occasion, he soon came to believe that his poem deserved to be set to music.

Cappeau had no musical background, perhaps in part due to the fact that his right hand was amputated due to a childhood accident. So he enlisted the help of a composer. Considering Cappeau’s beliefs, his choice of his friend, Adolphe Adam, was not surprising. Adam was known for his popular music written for the vaudeville houses of Paris, as well as being a prolific composer of operas and ballets during his career. In addition to O Holy Night, he is probably best known for his ballet, Giselle.

There is one other ironic fact about the choice of Adam as the composer of this beautiful hymn. While every indication is that he was quite secular, his ancestry was Jewish. Even though he neither celebrated Christmas nor believed that Jesus is the Son of God, he quickly accepted the musical challenge of setting the poem to music.

The carol made its debut in Roquemaure at the Christmas Eve mass in 1847, just three weeks after the work was completed to the satisfaction of Adam and Cappeau. It is no surprise that the beautiful carol soon became popular with the French public and was quickly accepted within the Roman Catholic Church in France.

That acceptance evaporated when Cappeau publicly walked away from the church to become part of the socialist movement and Adam’s Jewish heritage became known. Suddenly, narrow minded Catholic clerics were denouncing the carol as bad music with irreligious lyrics. Their attempts to besmirch the song were unsuccessful. The French people couldn’t be fooled and they continued to enjoy singing and listening to O Holy Night.

The popularity of the carol spread to the northern part of the United States when it was translated into English in 1855. The translator was John Sullivan Dwight. Trained as a minister, the Boston native quickly turned his career interest toward music as a critic and journalist in the field, helping to shape American tastes toward European classical music. He was also an ardent abolitionist. It was the third and final verse that caught his attention as bearing a message consistent with the abolitionist cause. (Sometimes, the second verse is omitted and this powerful verse becomes the second and final verse.) His translation reads as follows:

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

In my lifetime, and particularly in the last two years as I have come out to people within the Christian community and debated with some, I have learned that there is a wife rift in the Christian church regarding transgender. As we looked at some of the history of O Holy Night, we have seen that rifts like these are nothing new. Will the church be narrow-minded or open minded? Exclusive or inclusive? Self-righteous or humble? Oppressive or working for justice? Enslaving and legalistic or freedom-loving and gracious?

Some Christians got it that slavery is wrong, but some didn’t. Some Christians got it that racial prejudice is wrong, but some didn’t. Some Christians understand that we should oppose the oppression of other people, but some seem to think that the Christian church should oppress other people. And some Christians understand that it is wrong to oppress and be prejudiced against transgender people. Still some do not.

Quite frankly, it puzzles me how many Christians over the years have not understood why the Son of God came to earth. He was quite clear about it when He announced His ministry in His home synagogue in Nazareth. He announced it by reading from the prophet Isaiah. As it is recorded in Luke’s Gospel:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. – Luke 4:18-21

Most Christians can quote John 3:16 by heart. But do they know the next verse? It also speaks to the purpose of Christ’s ministry.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

And yet too many Christians are quick to condemn, or to turn their backs on the needy, or to be indifferent to the plight of marginalized people, or to wound rather than heal, or to bring oppression rather than seek deliverance. Quite frankly, one is too many, but there are far more than one.

Three years ago when I began my transition journey, and for many years before that once Internet searches became meaningful, I was able to find only one other transgender Christian to communicate with. And she is still deep in the closet. But now, I am beginning to hear from others who reside in the precarious penumbra of the planet Mercury, that narrow band of the Venn diagram where these two communities overlap. And I am hearing from devout people of other faiths whose religious communities rebuke them for being transgender. The letters are heart wrenching in terms of the oppression and rejection and loss these people face. I hope and pray that I am helping each one in a meaningful way. I will discuss this further in another post soon.

Eventually, most Christians understood Christ’s message about slavery. Eventually most Christians understood Christ’s opposition to racial prejudice. More and more Christians are understanding that Christ does not want His church to oppress people, but instead promote justice for all. I also hope and pray that most Christians will understand that those of us who are truly transgender are born this way, that there is no sin involved and absolutely no reason to rebuke and reject us on this basis.

For now, please enjoy this beautiful carol. I cry tears of joy to hear it. I pray it will become as much of an anthem to the cause of transgender justice as it was for the abolitionist cause some 160 years ago.

I am going to work smarter, not harder, to make this post. I am providing a link to the blog post of my friend, a pastor in Northern New Jersey. The teaching in this post touches on two very important points: the relationship between Jesus and the law, and how are transgender people faithful to the way God created us. In particular, it addresses how transgender children respond to the messages they receive that would have them conform to the way the world sees them on the outside rather than who they are on the inside.

I have only one note to add. The pastor refers to how the word “Jews” is used at times in the New Testament. According to my lexicon of Greek words in the New Testament, the Greek word used can refer to either the Jews collectively as a people or the Jewish leaders. It is the same way we might say that America did such and such, meaning the U.S. government, not the collective American population. Therefore, at times “Jews” will refer to just the Jewish leaders. How it is used can be discerned by the context.

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

It is important to see things the way God sees them. A key question in the consideration of how God sees transsexuals is how does God see people in general?

Many Christians have what we call a life verse. My life verse (But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. – 1st Samuel 16:7) was chosen long before my transition, and when I was not expecting that I would ever transition. A significant reason for choosing it was that I longed for people to see the real me inside, not who I appeared to be on the outside. I was not a hunk or a fine dresser. I dressed the part for business, especially when jacket and day was part of the required uniform for a stock broker. But otherwise, I was not especially concerned with my appearance.

I spend much more time on appearance now. I discovered I have a knack for women’s clothing when I was in my mid-30’s. I enjoy putting together outfits for the occasion: meeting a client, going to church, attending a support group meeting or party and so on. On the other hand, men’s clothes are boring, and I made it worse in male mode because I avoided wearing anything that might reveal my inner secret. In retrospect, it is easy to see my conflict in this area: wanting people to see the real me while desperately hiding it at the same time.

The most important thing is that God always sees the real me, sees who all of us are inside, no matter what we look like on the outside. Deep down, that was always very comforting to me and that was also a part of choosing my life verse. Nothing about me is hidden from God, including all my faults and imperfections. Yet, He still loves me anyway, and He also knows that my love for Him is genuine. Being genuine, being authentic, is an extremely important motivation for me, more now than ever before.

I was under no illusion that all of the Christians in my life would accept my decision to transition. The only thing that took me aback was their accusations that I was twisting the meaning of Scripture when I included verses like 1st Samuel 16:7 to provide a Biblical basis for my position that my transition was acceptable in God’s sight. I shake my head when I think of this verse and many other verses in the Bible that indicate that God says the unseen spiritual things are more important as a basis for judgment and a warning from Him about our tendency to not see things the way He does. On top of that, their responses had so little in the way of Scripture to back their position.

I have posted responses to various objections that Christians raise and will continue to do so from time to time. But what the Lord says is more important to me and that is what this post will focus on. Scripture interprets Scripture. So let’s look at other verses that give further evidence of how God sees us in terms of identity. Are they in agreement with 1st Samuel 16:7?

There are two primary actors in Acts 10: the Apostle Peter and Cornelius, a Roman centurion (a Gentile) who is highly regarded by the Jewish people and who fasts and prays to God. When we first meet Cornelius, we are told that an angel visits him, telling him that God accepts his prayers and good works. The angel instructs Cornelius to send messengers from Caesarea to Joppa and ask Peter to come to him.

Shortly before the messengers complete their long journey, Peter is waiting for his midday meal. He has a vision in which God, three times, tells him to take and eat of the animals that God presents to him, even though they are unclean under the Mosaic Law. God tells him (verse 15), “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” God is setting the stage by which Jew will no longer be separated from Gentile and the parts of the Mosaic Law that symbolized separateness (such as clean and unclean animals) would no longer apply.

While Peter is still pondering this vision, the Holy Spirit tells him that the messengers are looking for him and he should go with them to meet Cornelius. Arriving, he finds that Cornelius has gathered many other Gentiles to hear Peter’s message. Peter is starting to get it: These Gentiles want to hear the Gospel and God wants them to receive it. Here is Peter’s reaction at this point (verse 28):

“And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

Peter understood. God is opening the gates of Heaven to all the nations of the earth, as was foretold. It is the last part of his statement that is most significant for the purpose of our discussion. Peter realizes that with the walls of separation having been taken down, it is no longer his responsibility or right to judge any other people based on their identity. By extension, if it is true for an Apostle of Christ, it is true for all. We are still called upon to examine the actions of other people, but their identity is not important.

At this point, Peter asks Cornelius why he was summoned. Cornelius explains the vision he received a few days earlier. Then he tells Peter that he and the people he has gathered have submitted themselves to God so they can hear the message that God is commanding Peter to tell them.

This clinches it for Peter. His response is even more emphatic in verses 34 and 35:

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

At this point, Peter begins to preach the Gospel message, and before he finishes, God confirms that He is accepting these Gentiles who have assembled to hear Peter. The Holy Spirit descends upon them, similar to what happened a decade earlier to Christ’s disciples at Pentecost. To the astonishment of the Jewish Christians who accompanied Peter to Caesarea, a large group of Gentiles have been saved in their midst. They cannot deny that these Gentiles have been brought into spiritual fellowship with them and they have the right to water baptism. The course of Christianity had forever been changed.

Let’s take a closer look at the phrase “respecter of persons”. The fact that God is not one is important in understanding how God sees us. If He is not a “respecter of persons”, then what is He?

This key phrase is translated from a single Greek word: prosopoleptes. This is the only time it is used in the New Testament. According to my Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, it means someone who discriminates. God does not discriminate. But He doesn’t discriminate based on what?

Not all discrimination is bad. A person with discriminating taste knows that a filet mignon prepared by a master chef at his best is superior to a Big Mac. A teacher who can discriminate between ordinary and superior work by the students and grades accordingly deserves praise; a teacher who discriminates on the basis of skin color or some other type of identity needs to be retrained or fired. Which type of anti-discrimination applies to God?

The word “person” is derived from the Latin word “persona”, which means “mask”. A mask conveys an identity to others, whether true or a disguise. Therefore, we can interpret this phrase that God does not discriminate, He does not show partiality, based on external identity.

In the Old Testament, the children of Israel started with a spiritual advantage. But God still punished the wicked among His chosen people, while Gentiles who loved Him and followed Him (like Ruth) found favor with Him. Once the Messiah came to the world for all nations, the slate is wiped clean and everyone from every nation starts at the same spiritual place. No nation, race or gender is favored over another.

No wonder those assembled Gentiles responded to Peter by magnifying God (verse 46). Can you imagine what it felt like to know that something precious you longed for but thought was impossible was now given to you, too? I don’t have to imagine it. I know: twice, in fact. My Christian identity is now secure and my female identity is now very public.

Because of the length of the post and the time it was taking to complete it, I will close the post here, with more verses to be examined in the next post (coming soon).

This year may be my most peaceful Christmas ever. Last year, my full-time experience as Lois was about a month and a half old. There was still much concern over how friends, family and clients would react. I had received some positive feedback (the negatives would start on New Year’s Eve), but many had not responded yet, one way or the other. As Scotty remarked on an episode of the original Star Trek when he was a murder suspect and he was suffering from memory blackouts, “I can’t stand this not knowing.”

Now there are only a handful of people on my Christmas card list that I haven’t heard from since they were told last year. And there are some other people with things in limbo. But for the most part, that is behind me now. There will always be decisions when new people come into our lives. Who do I tell? When and how do I tell them? That is part of our lot in life as transsexuals unless we are so out there (and famous) that the only people who don’t know just came back from twenty years on Mars or something like that.

Andy Williams was known for a Christmas song that declared that this season is the “most wonderful time of the year.” I agree. There are many reasons for that, especially once we get away from the stores and shopping malls. There’s the story itself: the birth of baby Jesus; the long journey only to find no place to lodge for the night and only having a lowly stable and manger for the place of birth; the angels’ announcement to the shepherds; the birth attended by the shepherds and the animals; the young mother who was barely a woman herself, pondering all the things that she had been told by the angel Gabriel and her cousin Elizabeth and then all the things that happened thereafter; the understanding and goodness demonstrated by Joseph. It is a story that resonates with both Christians and non-Christians. It helps set a nicer mood.

Then there are all the trappings of the season: the beautiful decorations set in contrast to the bleakness of winter in many parts of the world; the delightful music with carols old and new; lovely greeting cards providing us an opportunity to tell others how much they mean in our lives and to keep in touch with friends we rarely see; the joy of seeing someone truly appreciate our gift to them and our receiving a special gift.

And then there are the children. It is precious to see the wonder and delight on the faces of children, whether they are first appreciating Christmas, or having been waiting in anticipation for the big day to arrive. Part of what we see, when we adults watch the children, is our own joyful memories.

Here are some of the things that I remember and associate with Christmas (in no particular order):

Giving – When my family lived in Queens, I remember a well-attended Christmas Eve service just for the children. Our numbers were evidence of being part of the baby boom generation as well as the importance our parents placed on church (at least for their children if not for themselves).

The one part of that service that remains with me to this day (and I was seven years old the last time I attended that church on Christmas Eve) was when row after row of children would file out of their seats bringing a gift for the poor. We would be clutching a can of food or some money, perhaps a toy, and we would lay it before the altar before soberly returning to our seats. During the entire procession, we would sing the following lyrics: “What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. But what can I give Him? Give my heart.” There were enough children that we must have sang that little tune at least a dozen times before the very last row made the round trip to the altar and back to their seats.

No wonder these touching lyrics have stayed with me for a lifetime. It was in June, not December, but thirty years later those lyrics finally reached their destination in me. It was then, at age 36, that I gave my heart and my life to Christ.

What we celebrate – I am not ashamed of Christ or the Gospel. So let’s speak plainly. It is Christmas that we celebrate at this time of year. If it were not for Christ we would not celebrate this holiday. This is true no matter what you think of Christ or how you observe Christmas. The word literally means “a mass for Christ”.

There are some, both Christians and non-Christians, who demur because we do not know the actual day of the birth of Jesus. My response is simple. We do not celebrate Jesus’ birthday on Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. The difference is subtle but profound. Every day, Christians should celebrate the birth of Christ in some way. Any day is as good as another. December 25 is a fine day.

As Christians, we need to be careful about getting trapped in what could become a tangled web. I remember about 20 years ago, a woman in my church had a sincere question. She asked me, “Which holiday is more important, Christmas or Easter?”

I had never considered the question before. I can tell you that the answer came so quickly and without meditation on my part, I know it was the Holy Spirit that supplied the answer. “Christmas made Easter possible; Easter made Christmas necessary.”

Christmas trees – I have nothing against them. A treasured childhood memory is going with my dad and my brother to some lot under the el on Liberty Avenue to pick out our tree. Once it was set up, I enjoyed looking at it decorated with lights and ornaments. One of my early lessons in physics came from placing a large ornament near the top of the tree. As I got older, I would remember some of the more unique ornaments when we took them out of the box.

Another fond memory is my brother and I setting up the toy village and trains. Even though it was a boring circuit around the base of the tree, we would still spend hours playing with it, learning how to control the speed of the train and what happens if it goes too fast around the curve. It is part of my lifelong love of trains. Part of my wish list that probably will not come to pass is having an elaborate model train set.

The major reason that it will not come to pass is the same reason that I have never had my own Christmas tree. My apartment barely has room for me. As I tell people, my apartment is so small that I have to go out in the hall to change my mind!

While my parents were still alive and physically capable of setting up a tree, that was my official Christmas tree, and I celebrated my Christmas with them and my brother. Since that time, there is no room for a tree in this inn.

Family – My mom’s four siblings lived in other parts of the country. My dad’s two brothers lived in the NYC metropolitan area, same as we did. So we spent Christmas every year from as early as I can remember with my aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad’s side of the family. We would take turns as far as whose house we would meet at. My cousins were a good group of kids. I never remember any problems with them at Christmas. It was a fun time with lots of toys and the men secretly wanting to play with some of those toys.

Then we moved to the opposite side of the metropolitan area, the northwest suburbs instead of Long Island where the others lived. In a few years, my aunts and uncles decided that it was too far for them to come to our house, but not too far for us to go to them. It was one of the times that I heard my mom declare, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.” From then on Christmas was spent with my immediate family only.

Santa Claus – I caught on to Santa Claus being a fake pretty early on and no longer wanted to visit Santa at the store. My parents’ attempts to keep up the pretense were annoying.

I once heard a pastor preach that he told his children that Santa Claus was a fake as soon as they could understand about Christmas. His reason was simple. If they are told that Santa is real and associate him with Christmas, when they find out that he really doesn’t exist it could also cast doubts on the existence of Jesus. Sticking to the facts about Christmas is something I wholeheartedly endorse. However, I never had children of my own to practice that philosophy personally.

Music – As I shared before, Christmas music brings a host of joys and happy memories. Most of the old favorites are easy to sing. At this point, I am going to switch from prose to a mini-concert: links to my favorites with an introduction to each. We will also have a guest reader at one point. Perhaps you will make these selections part of your Christmas celebration?

Christmas is hope for long awaited prophecy to be revealed. — All Israel waited centuries for the Messiah. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14

Christmas is holiness. — A majestic voice to sing this beloved carol splendidly. Note the marvelous statement of social justice that all Christians should embrace: “Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.”

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. – 1st Peter 1:15-16

Christmas is a time for questions and answers. — The singer of this version is a relative unknown (she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page!), but her voice and rendition is beautiful. This carol is made for a fine alto voice like hers. Fame is not important to God; the offering of our talents is.

Christmas is humble and prayerful. — The traditional fourth and final verse of this carol is a wonderful petition and a great description of hearts prayerfully prepared for communion. I wish that more of the versions found online contained this verse. In the version I am posting, it is sung as the third verse.

“O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell: O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!”

Christmas is light hearts for young and old. — This modern Christmas favorite was done in a new way. It is hard to believe it is about sixty years old now. The video is also relatively old. It was originally created and shared as an exe file, before computer creeps made it too dangerous to download them. After all this time, it still brings a smile to my face. For the full effect, you need to watch.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. – Isaiah 43:19

Christmas is memories and meaningful testimony. — For many people, A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the best memories of Christmas. First seen in 1965, Charles Schulz and producer Bill Melendez had to fight the executives at CBS to keep the animated program faithful to their vision for it. Upon screening it, the executives were sure it would flop and only be shown once. As often happens, the “experts” were wrong. Viewers loved that it was real, not slick, and carried a meaningful message of Christmas against the increasing commercialization of the holiday.

The next two links are from this classic Christmas program: a song and a sweet, lisping voice telling Charlie Brown the real meaning of Christmas, plus some more favorite Christmas carols. Another thing insisted upon that horrified the executives was the use of children, not adults, as the voices. It added to the charm and realism.

Christmas is pure, unbridled joy. — My final selection, from the movie, The Preacher’s Wife, brings a joyful Gospel flavor to one of my favorite carols. There is also the clear message that Christ is Lord. “He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love …”

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. – Luke 2:10-11